Diabetes mellitus is a common disorder affecting nearly 16 million Americans. See, for example, Report of the Expert Committee on the Diagnosis and Classification of Diabetes Mellitus. Diabetes Care, 20; 1183-97 (1997). Diabetic individuals are prone to complications which are a major threat to both the quality and the quantity of life. Almost half those diagnosed with diabetes before the age of 31 years die before they reach 50 years largely as a result of cardiovascular or renal complications, often with many years of crippling and debilitating disease beforehand. See, Deckert T., Poulsen J., Larsen M. Diabetologia 14:363-70 (1978). It is estimated that diabetic individuals have a 25-fold increase in the risk of blindness, a 20-fold increase in the risk of renal failure, a 20-fold increase in the risk of amputation as a result of gangrene, and a 2-to 6-fold increased risk of coronary heart disease and ischemic brain damage. See, Klein R., Klein B., Moss S., Davis M., DeMets D. Diabetes Care 8; 311-5 (1985).
Largely because of these long-term complications, the cost of diabetes in the US was estimated as $98 billion in 1997 comprising $44 billion for direct medical costs such as inpatient and outpatient care plus $54 billion for indirect costs such as lost earnings and productivity, and premature death. Medical innovations that can slow the progression of diabetes have tremendous potential to mitigate the associated clinical and cost repercussions. See, American Diabetes Association, “Economic consequences of diabetes in the U.S. in 1997,” Diabetes Care 21:296-309 (1998).
Elevated blood glucose levels are now regarded as causative of diabetic complications based on results of the Diabetes Complications and Control Trial (DCCT) and the United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS). See, N Eng J. Med. 379:977-85 (1993) and Lancet 352:837-53 (1998). The DCCT and the UKPDS have both demonstrated that the development of complications of diabetes is related with the degree of hyperglycemia and that the long-term outcome may be ameliorated by rigorous treatment. For example, prognosis is dramatically improved if capillary blood and glycated hemoglobin levels are maintained less than 150 mg/dL and 7.0% respectively.
The mechanism of glucose toxicity in the tissues of patients with diabetes mellitus is unknown. Glucose condenses with free amino groups on structural and functional proteins to form Schiff bases which, in turn, undergo a series of transformations to yield dark-brown Maillard products. It has been proposed that diabetes complications are caused by the non-enzymatic cross-linking of proteins. See, for example, Cerami A., Ulrich P. C., Brownlee M., U.S. Pat. No. 4,758,583 (1988). However, although increased protein cross-linking is seen in the tissues of people with long-standing diabetes, the role of Maillard products as a causative factor is certainly not clear. See, for example, Wolff S. P., Jiang Z. Y., Hunt J. V. Free Rad Biol Med 10; 339-52 (1991).
Amadori-rearrangement is the most important Maillard transformation because its product, fructosamine, is the precursor of all the browning products. A novel extracellular enzyme which catalyzes the elimination of fructosamines from glycated protein has been isolated. Enzymes which are related have been disclosed. See, for example, Gerhardinger C., et al. J Biol Chem 270(1):218-24 (1995); Saxena, A. K. et al., J Biol Chem 271(51):32803-9 (1996); and Horiuchi T, et al., Agric. Biol. Chem. 53(1):103-110 (1989). Based on its high specificity for glycated protein substrates and its use of oxygen as an acceptor, the enzyme may be classified as fructosamine oxidase 1.5.3. See, Enzyme Nomenclature, Recommendations of the Nomenclature Committee of the International Union of Biochemistry, Academic Press, London pp. 19-22, (1979).
Fructosamine oxidase is a copper metalloenzyme which belongs to the copper amine oxidase group of enzymes which have previously been isolated from bacteria, fungi, yeast, and mammalian sera. Products of the fructosamine oxidase catalyzed reaction are free unglycated protein, α-dicarbonyl sugar, and the active oxygen species superoxide. A highly specific copper chelator, triethylenetetramine dihydrochloride, is an irreversible inhibitor of fructosamine oxidase activity. See, for example, Morpurgo L, et al. Biol Met 3:114-7 (1990).
Increased fructosamine oxidase activity may cause many of the recognized sequelae of diabetes by degrading fructosamines bound to basement membrane proteins and generating reactive oxygen species as reaction products. For example, superoxide anions cause an increase in intracellular calcium which modulates the activity of nitric oxide synthase. Nitric oxide is a potent vasodilator and it has been implicated in the vascular dysfunction of early diabetes. See, for example, Ido Y., Kilo C., Williamson J. R. Nephrol Dial Transplant 11 Suppl 5:72-5 (1996). Reactive oxygen species also cause a drastic dose-dependent decrease in de novo synthesis of heparin sulfate proteoglycans leading to a reduction in anionic sites on the glomerular basement membrane and an increase in basement membrane permeability to cationic plasma proteins such as albumin. See, Kashira N., Watanabe Y., Malin H., Wallner E. I., and Kanwar Y. S. Proc Natl Acad Sci U.S.A. 89:6309-13 (1992). Increased urinary albumin clearance is a risk indicator in people with diabetes mellitus both for evolving renal disease and for early mortality mainly from coronary heart disease. See, for example, Mattock M. B., Barnes D. J., Viberti G. C., et al. Diabetes 47:1786-92 (1998).
Once natural anti-oxidant defenses are exceeded, hydroxyl radicals may be generated from superoxide via a copper catalyzed Haber-Weiss reaction. See, Halliwell B. and Gutteridge J. M. C. “Free radicals in Biology and Medicine” Clarendon Press, Oxford pp. 136-76 (1989). Hydroxyl radicals are extremely reactive species and could cause the permanent site-specific damage to basement membrane proteins and histopathological changes that are typical of diabetic microvascular disease. See, Robbins S. L., Cotran R. S., Kumar V. “Pathologic basis of disease” 3rd ed. W. B. Saunders, pp. 991-1061. (1984).
Similarly, any prolonged increase in fructosamine oxidase activity will cause oxidative stress which could account for the excess risk of macrovascular disease and the 75% increase in mortality seen in patients with diabetes mellitus compared with non-diabetic individuals. Recent studies have convincingly demonstrated that oxidative modification of low density lipoprotein (LDL) is involved in the development of atherosclerosis of coronary and peripheral arterial vessels and elevated oxidized LDL concentrations are found in subjects with diabetes mellitus. See, Witztum J. L. Br Heart J 69 (Suppl):S12-S18 (1993) and Picard S., Talussot C., Serusclat A. et al. Diabetes and Metabolism 22:25-30 (1996). Oxidative changes to membrane lipids and to membrane protein SH-groups may also cause aberrations in cellular calcium homeostasis and contribute to the increased incidence of cardiac sudden death that is typical of diabetes. See, Yucel D., Aydogdu S., Cehreli S. et al. Clin Chem 44:148-54 (1998).
Triethylenetetramine dihydrochloride, also known as trienes or trien-2HCl or trientine dihydrochloride, is a copper chelating agent. Trienes have been used for treating individuals with Wilson's disease. See, for example, Dubois R. S., Lancet 2(7676): 775 (1970); Walsh, J. M., Q J Med. 42(167): 441-52 (1973); Haslam, R. H., et al., Dev Pharmacol Ther 1(5): 318-24 (1980). Trienes have also been used to treat individuals with primary biliary cirrhosis. See, for example, Epstein O., et al., Gastroenterology 78(6): 1442-5 (1980). In addition, trienes have been used to inhibit the spontaneous development of hepatitis and hepatic tumors in rats. See, for example, Sone K., et al., Hepatology 23(4): 764-70 (1996). Thus far, trienes have not been used in the treatment of diabetes.
All publications and patents cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.